Teach Me to Fly
by agent000
Summary: Ed won't tell Al what's happening, but Al knows something's up. Something bizarre. Something Ed's ashamed to talk about. Something to do with what Ed's hiding underneath his coat.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi, everyone! Sorry that I keep starting new fics before I can finish the oldones. Argh! I just can't rest until I let these ideas out! Seriously. It's like they're alive or something, I don't know how to explain it. Only those who have experienced that seem to understand it. Sigh._**

**_Anyway, this is an experimental fic. Let me know if you like it, and if I should continue it. I realize that this chapter's a bit short, but this is just what the chapter dictated, so I left it at that._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, but I can still protect them from the cold, cruel world...oh wait, RR-Major-Ed-Pride already did this disclaimer in "One Year"! Oops._**

"Brother, where were you?" asked a concerned Al as Ed finally came into view, walking with his shoulders hunched over and his face towards the ground.

"Nowhere," came the reply.

"But, Brother," Al protested, "We've been looking all over for you. We were worried sick! You had to have been somewhere all this time. Where were you?"

"Nowhere important," Ed said with a grunt. Al opened his mouth to protest, but Ed just pushed past him and muttered something about not wasting time, so Al clamed his mouth shut and then hurried to catch up with his brother.

They soon arrived at the military mess hall. Even though Ed had quit being a state alchemist several years back, he had rejoined after he had finally managed to restore Al's body, and Roy had become Fuhrer, guaranteeing better leadership. Ed and Al grabbed their trays of food and sat down.

"Brother," Al asked, "Aren't you going to take off your coat?"

"I don't feel like it," said Ed.

"But aren't you hot, wearing that inside?"

"Don't ask so many questions, Al," said Ed as he pushed himself up from the table and walked away to get himself a second helping of food. Al just looked on.

"I was only wondering was what the matter with you," he said, but Ed didn't hear.

Later that night, as Al was trying to rest in his dorm room, he woke up with a start. His first thought was of his brother, so he cast a glance over in the direction of Ed's bed, and found that he wasn't in it. Where could he have gone?

"I'm not going to get any sleep tonight if I don't find out where Brother is," Al said as he slipped on his shoes and pulled on his coat. He stepped outside into the warm night air, and felt a light breeze whip his hair against his face. The clear, starry sky and the full moon made it an ideal night for, well, whatever his brother was doing.

Al shrugged and sighed. He had no idea where his brother was, but he wasn't going to just stand around and wait for him. Deciding to simply trust his senses, he headed for the forest on the outskirts of town. He had no idea what his brother would be doing there, but his senses were rarely wrong.

After searching for some time, he finally spotted his brother standing at the edge of a ravine which cut sharply at the edge into a rugged cliff. Perhaps Ed had just come to admire the beauty of the ravine? It was possible, Al wouldn't deny that, but it was a bit unlike Ed.

Come to think of it, Ed hadn't been acting like himself all day. He wouldn't talk to Al, wouldn't take off his coat, and now he was sneaking out in the middle of the night to be in nature. This was unusual indeed. What had gotten into him?

Al crept closer, but did so quietly so as not to alert Ed to his presence. He knew that Ed wouldn't tell him anything, so he had a better chance of finding out what was going on by simply creeping close, and well, eavesdropping.

When Al decided that he was a close enough distance from Ed to observe him, he quickly ducked behind a bush and peered through the leaves to try and catch a glimpse of what his brother was up to.

The breeze blew Ed's hair into his face as it also pulled the corners of his jacket into the ravine, as if beckoning him to follow. Ed closed his eyes in silence for a moment, and then said, "Teach me to fly." With that, he jumped over the edge of the cliff into the ravine.

**_If you liked this chapter, and want to see more, you'll have to leave a review, and let me know. Otherwise, I won't update, since this is only an experimental fic. Thanks for reading though, and hope to see you back soon!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Wow! 21 reviews on one chapter? That's unreal! I've never gotten that big of a response before! Never!That beats my biggest prior record of 14 reviews on the first chapter of "The Joke's On Us"! Wow. I can't believe that this story is so darn popular! Total, complete shock! I'm so honored! Heh heh, fine, I'll continue this story. (If I don't, I think that some of you will probably kill me.)_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist...but I act like Al, does that count towards anything? Seriously, I act like Al. I might not look it by the way I write, but in real life, that's how I act, hehe. (So, if you're one of those that says that they don't like Al, well, it's a good thing we don't know each other, hehehe.)_**

Al's eyes widened in shock at the scene before him. One moment, his brother had been standing on the edge of the cliff, and the next, he was gone. The utter shock of the moment left him paralyzed, able to do nothing. He wanted to jump up and run, find his brother, and pull him back up to safety, but his legs wouldn't move.

His lips quivered as he tried to form words to call out to Ed, but no sound came forth. The situation was too much. His vision began to blur, and before he knew it, everything had gone black.

The next thing he knew, he heard the characteristic beeps and clanks that only came from hospital rooms from all the machines hooked up to him and all the people bustling around. He heard a lot of voices fussing over him, but couldn't quite make out what they said. One voice sounded quite familiar though.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Brother, thought Al, how did you get here? Al finally managed to open his eyes, and saw Ed staring down at him. Ed gasped and threw his arms around Al. "Oh, thank goodness! Don't ever do that again! You had me so worried!"

With much effort, Al managed to pull up enough strength to ask the same question he had just been thinking, but hadn't had the strength to utter. "Brother, how did you get here?"

Ed sent him a quizzical look, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Al hesitated a moment while he tried to regain his strength, and then said, "I saw you jump over the cliff."

Ed's jaw dropped. "You-you saw…?" Al nodded. "H-How much did you see?"

Al waited another moment to answer to gather strength, and then said, "I only saw you jump over the cliff. I passed out right after that."

Ed breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "I guess that I must've been the cause of your fainting. For that, I'm sorry, but why were you following me?"

"I was worried, Brother," Al said, "You haven't been acting like yourself all day."

Ed looked down at the ground. Should he tell Al? No, not right now. He might be able to make it all go away without Al ever finding out anyway. Al didn't need to know. "I suppose I haven't," he said, "I'm sorry, I've had a bad day. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Brother?" said Al, propping himself up a little bit with one of his arms, "How did you get back up the cliff?"

"Oh," Ed started as he snapped his eyes back up at Al, "There was a ledge not too far down from where I jumped. I had known it was there. I just felt like falling a little bit is all. I guess I just needed an adrenaline rush."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" asked Al, exasperated, "I could have joined you."

Ed chuckled as he stood up and rubbed Al's hair. "You wouldn't understand." He then turned and walked out of the room to allow Al to rest.

"So, you haven't told him yet?" asked Colonel Roy Mustang as soon as Ed had stepped out of the room.

Ed hung his head. "No, I can't tell him. Not just yet."

"Rest assured," said Colonel Mustang, "We're doing everything in our power to catch the culprit, so that this won't happen to anyone else."

"I'm sure you are," said Ed, "But please don't tell anyone about me, okay?"

"You have my word on it," said Colonel Mustang. With that, the two saluted, and then parted.

**_Sorry that that chapter was so short. I need to keep the guessing game going for a few chapters, so that kind of makes the chapters short. Sorry. Hope you liked it anyway. Please review. If I get a lot of reviews, I'll update really soon. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until I get around to it, hehe._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Argh! I can't seem to make long chapters with this story. Sigh. Oh well, hope that you enjoy this chapter anyway. Maybe now you'll quit bugging me about torturing you, heh heh heh. Of course, I'll always find another way to torture you all. Don't I always?_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own. Need I say what I do not own? I hope that you're not that stupid. If you don't know what I don't own, PM me. I'll explain the concept of copyright to you._**

"Al, are you awake?" Ed gently shook his brother until the boy wearily opened his eyes.

"What is it, Brother?" Al asked, concerned.

"The Colonel is sending me away for a few days while he does an investigation. The doctor says you're well enough to move around now, so I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

"You don't even have to ask, Brother," replied Al, "You know I'll always accompany you, wherever you go."

Ed smiled and chuckled a bit. "Yes, I know, but I still wanted to ask."

Al sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was still pretty weak and tired, but he knew that he had enough strength to move around, so he wasn't going to let that bother him. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and carefully stood up, holding onto the railing on the side of the bed for support to avoid getting dizzy.

"So, Brother, where are we going?"

"Just to a little town a few hours away by train," said Ed. "The Colonel already had the tickets purchased. We'll have to hurry though, that train is about to leave. Here, let me help you walk." Ed put his arm around his brother's back and gently pushed him to walk at as fast a pace as he dared make Al walk.

Before long, both brothers were on the train. Al was looking out the window, thinking to himself. Ed was just looking off into the distance, almost like he was talking to someone who wasn't there. Al looked back up at Ed, and Ed snapped out of it.

"Brother," Al began, "What are you not telling me?"

Ed coughed. "What are you talking about, Al?"

"There's something that you're not telling me. You can't hide something like that from me, I'm your brother. What is it?"

"It's just…" Ed began, "…Well, military stuff…you know…classified stuff." Al nodded his head and grunted his understanding, though it was obvious that he didn't quite buy that excuse.

Ed sighed and relaxed into his seat, letting his back sag. He suddenly let out a yelp of pain and grasped his back.

"Brother, are you okay? What's the matter with your back?" cried Al.

"Relax, nothing's wrong with my back. I just laid on it the wrong way, is all. It's not a big deal, don't worry so much."

Al gulped and nodded. There was definitely something that his brother wasn't telling him, but he hadn't a clue what it was. He didn't bother Ed with any more questions though, because Ed was soon fast asleep.

After a few hours, the train came to a stop in the little town that the two were to get off at. Al woke Ed up, and the brothers made their way out of the train. Standing on the train platform, the two looked around at their new surroundings. It was mainly just a small country town. It reminded them a lot of Rizenbul, their hometown.

"Where do we go now, Brother?" asked Al, breaking the silence.

Ed rubbed his tired eyes and replied, "I guess that we should go and find ourselves a room to stay in while we're here. I don't have a map of this place, so I guess that we'll just have to stop someone and ask them where an inn is." Al nodded his response, and promptly fell into step behind his brother, who began walking towards town, since they didn't see anyone there at the train depot.

Ed finally managed to find someone who knew where an inn was, so while Ed went inside to secure themselves a room, Al waited outside for his brother. He looked around at all the street vendors and corner shops on the street, and couldn't help but wonder what kinds of goods these places were selling. He decided to go take a look. His brother would be able to find him easily.

He crossed the street to a worn down building with a lot of boxes in front of it and began pawing through a box of merchandise when he heard some commotion going on in the second story of the building before him. He didn't think anything of it until he heard the characteristic sound of bricks and wood falling…falling his way!

Time seemed to stand still for those couple seconds as he watched, helplessly, not able to move. Had he even been able to move, he would never have been able to get out of there in time. What those people in the second story had done to cause the wall to collapse like that, he would never know, but he knew his time was short…any second now…

Suddenly, he heard another sound which he couldn't pinpoint, and he felt a pair of hands grab him and hold him tight to shield him from the collapsing wall. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable crash that he knew would kill him…but it never came. He had heard the bricks fall, but they hadn't touched him. What had kept him alive?

He opened his eyes, and looked into the face of his brother, who was holding him tightly for dear life. "Are you okay?" Ed asked. Al nodded, still too stunned to speak, and he still didn't know how they had survived that collision. The answer soon became apparent, however, when Al cast his gaze upward a bit. There, rising from his brother's back and shielding both of their heads was a pair of large white wings.

**_Hope that you liked that chapter, now review. The more reviews, the faster the update, after all. Hope to see you around soon!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Do you know what? I kept forgetting that I had made Roy the Fuhrer in this story, and kept calling him "Colonel Mustang"! Oops! Sorry about that. From now on, I'll make sure to keep his rank correct._**

**_I also tried to make this chapter just a little bit longer. It's still not terribly long, but it's a little better than I've been doing. Hopefully, this chapter will have a few answers to some of the questions you've been having. Please feel free to ask questions though, as it helps me to know which questions need addressing._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist, and I don't have time to come up with a witty saying, so you're just going to have to live with it._**

"B-Brother…" Al began, but couldn't come up with any more words to say. He was confused, to say the least. Ed hung his head.

"Al, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know."

Regaining his strength, Al grabbed his brother's chest furiously and demanded, "Brother, what happened? Tell me! Tell me!"

Ed sighed. He wasn't sure that he really wanted to tell Al anything, but he couldn't get away with saying nothing anymore. Ed took a deep breath and looked at Al. "Could you hand me my coat first, so that I can cover these wings up again?" Al let go of Ed with a start, and quickly ran and grabbed Ed's coat and brought it to him. Ed carefully slipped it on over the large wings, which amazed Al at how he was able to do that, since those wings were huge, and looked much too large to be able to fit under that small jacket.

Catching the reaction on Al's face, Ed replied, "You'd be surprised what you can do when you have to."

Al looked away for a second, cleared his throat, and then looked back at his brother. "So, Brother, how did this happen?"

"I'll tell you later," Ed said, "Right now, we need to get out of here. Mustang is going to have to pay all these witnesses to keep their mouths shut, and I'm probably going to have to go hide in another town."

Al looked down at the ground. "I-I'm sorry, Brother. I didn't mean to-"

He was cut off abruptly by Ed. "It's not your fault, Al. You didn't make that wall collapse, and I wasn't about to let you die just to keep my secret. So, relax." Then, grabbing his hand, Ed said, "Come on, I need to go and call the Fuhrer."

Before long, the two brothers were on the train again, heading for yet another destination. Fuhrer Mustang had made arrangements to pay off the witnesses in that small town to keep their mouths shut, and had told Ed where to go to continue hiding. All this hiding was really getting on Ed's nerves, since he didn't really enjoy having to hide, but he knew it wasn't safe to let his secret be known, for him or anybody else.

"Brother," said Al, interrupting Ed's thoughts, "You told me that you'd tell me what happened."

Ed sighed. "I did, didn't I?" He gulped, and then took a deep breath. "I can't tell you much, because it's classified information. However, I can tell you that there is someone out there abducting people to use in his human transmutation experiments. I just happened to have been one of his unlucky targets."

"Someone performed human transmutation on you?"

Ed nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. I was combined with a dove, hence the wings."

"Then…that means…" Al began, "That you're a chimera." Ed nodded in response, but didn't say a word. Al tried to hold back tears, but couldn't stop the flood of saltwater from rampaging down his face.

Ed reached over and affectionately rubbed Al's back. "Hey, it's okay," he soothed, "At least I didn't get hurt. This is awkward, but I'll be alright. Don't worry so much." Al nodded, as though he understood, but continued to cry. Ed felt helpless watching his brother this way, not being able to do anything about it.

Later, Ed and Al made their way to the dining car to get themselves something to eat. Al was surprised as he watched Ed not choosing any of his favorite foods. Most of what went on his plate were fruits and vegetables. Strange. Very strange. That wasn't like Ed.

"Brother," Al said as the two sat down at a table to eat, "Why didn't you get any of your favorite foods?"

Ed shoved a forkful of green beans into his mouth before answering. "I'm not entirely human anymore, Al. I have to eat things that will cooperate with the physical chemistry of both creatures."

Al nodded in silence. That made sense. A dove would naturally be a vegetarian, so it was likely that his brother couldn't even handle meat now. "You should probably force yourself to drink milk then to make sure you get enough protein then," said Al. Ed coughed.

"You said WHAT?" Al just responded with a blank stare. Ed chuckled and gave a warm smile. "Actually, I couldn't even if I wanted to. Not only do I hate it, but milk is like a poison to birds."

"Oh," Al said, "I didn't know that." Ed waved his hand as if it were nothing. Al slumped down into his seat. He had had no idea that being a chimera could change THAT much about your life. He felt so sorry for his brother, having to deal with all of this.

Catching his expression, Ed piped up, "Look, Al, relax. Everyone's doing the best they can to fix this. Worrying isn't going to help anything as it'll probably just make me start to worry. Just eat your food and try to be your normal, cheerful self. I'd be a lot more at ease if you were."

"Alright, Brother, I'll try," said Al. He meant it. He certainly would try to be cheerful for his brother's sake. He then took a forkful of the food on his plate and began to eat.

After a few hours, the brothers had finally arrived at their new destination, yet another small town out in the country. Ed once again went and made reservations for a room at the inn, and Al stuck by his side this time, to avoid having anything else happen. He didn't want to expose his brother a second time.

When they finally got settled into their room, Ed threw off his coat and stretched his wings. "Finally! I thought I'd never get to take that off." He flopped down onto his bed on his stomach and began mumbling under his breath.

Al looked over at his brother with a concerned expression on his face. "Brother? Who are you talking to?"

Ed looked up at Al with a startled expression on his face, and said, "What makes you think I'm talking to someone?"

"Just by the simple fact that you were talking just now, and not talking to me," Al stated. "Brother, what else are you hiding? I know you're hiding something else. You can trust me, you know that. Why don't you tell me?" Tears started running down Al's cheeks as he was saying this. Ed sighed. He couldn't ever hold up under that kind of pressure from Al.

Ed turned his face away from Al. "Do you really want to know?" Al nodded furiously. Ed didn't actually see him nod, but he figured that had by the way his sobs had been so garbled for that moment, so he turned back to face Al, and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Al, have you ever thought about what happens to the spirit of the animal involved in the transmutation?"

Al shook his head. No, he'd never thought of that. "Doesn't the animal's spirit just die?"

This was Ed's turn to shake his head. "No, contrary to popular belief, there is no difference between a human soul and an animal soul. They are simply in different bodies. When someone creates a chimera, there is no place for both souls involved to go to except into the same body."

Al's eyes widened in shock. "So there are two souls in your body?" Ed nodded. Al continued speaking. "So, that's who you've been talking to, isn't it? It's the spirit of the bird you were combined with."

"Yes, that's who it is. He's just as bothered by this whole situation as I am. He didn't want to be a human any more than I wanted to be a bird, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. What's done is done, and we both just have to move on, even if we both have to share the same body."

Finishing his speech, Ed stood up and walked over to the closet to hang up his coat as Al looked on. Poor Brother, Al thought, having to go through all of this. I feel sorry for the spirit of that bird too. Neither one of them did anything to deserve this. I wish there was something I could do for them.

Then he remembered. Ed wanted him to be cheerful. That may be all he could do for his brother, but at least he could do that. After Ed finished hanging up his coat, he turned back around to face Al. Al flashed him a big smile. This may be all he could do to help, but he was going to make sure to do a good job of it.

**_Hope you liked that chapter. Please leave a review, and let me know what you think._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey, everyone! Here's the next installment. Hope you enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't ask.**_

"So, Brother," Al said as the two walked through the center of town, looking for something to do, "I suppose that you can fly now?" Ed shook his head. Al was confused. "But…Didn't you fly to me when that wall almost collapsed on me? Also, what about when you jumped over the side of that cliff? Didn't you fly then?"

Ed laughed. "Well, yes and no. You see, Al, I don't know how to fly yet. He's teaching me, but I don't know how to use these wings yet. Likewise, he doesn't yet know how to speak, so I'm teaching him. Equivalent trade, you see." He turned to face Al, and smiled. Al smiled in return, though he felt a bit awkward.

"So…this other being…participated in saving my life?"

Ed nodded. "Very much so. I couldn't have saved you without his help."

Al gulped. "Then…could you thank him for me?"

Ed smiled. "You could easily thank him yourself. He has just as much control of this body as I do. We both just basically strive to not get in each other's way. It's difficult, but we seem to be managing alright, more or less."

Al coughed, and then said, "Well…then…thank you, um…"

"He doesn't have a name," Ed said. Al looked up at Ed in surprise.

"Why don't we give him one then?"

Ed shrugged. "Sure, I don't think he'd mind having a name. What did you have in mind?"

Al thought for a moment. He wanted to give this being a name that would actually fit, but what kind of name would fit in this bizarre scenario? Wait a moment, when he was in the Gate, he remembered having seen a lot of bizarre things, some from the past, some from the present, and some from the future. That gave him an idea.

"Why don't we call him Selmac?" Al asked.

"Selmac? Why that name?" asked Ed.

Al shrugged. "It's something I remembered from the Gate. Apparently, it's a character from a story that will be created in the future. He's some sort of creature that lives inside of someone else, so I just thought…"

Ed chuckled. "Okay, I guess that it fits then. Selmac it is."

Al smiled. He still felt helpless to help his brother, but he was still going to try and retain his cheerful attitude. He had to, for his brother's sake. And for Selmac's.

That night, while Al was sleeping, he again woke up with a start. He glanced over at his brother's bed, only to find it empty again. He got up from his bed, and walked over to the desk that was situated beside his brother's bed. There was a note on it.

"Al, if you wake up this time, please relax. You know what I'm doing." Another flying lesson, I'll bet, Al thought. "I'll be back before sunup, so I know that I won't be seen by anyone. Just please go back to sleep, and try not to worry about me, okay? Love, Ed."

Al sighed as he put down the note. He wished that his brother wouldn't run off like that, but what could be done about it? He couldn't really say that he blamed his brother for doing so, but it really made him worry.

A small gust of wind blew through the window just then, causing a few of the papers on the desk to fall to the floor. Al bent down and picked them up. Hmm…he thought, I didn't notice these. I wonder what else brother has been writing about tonight?

While he knew he shouldn't snoop on his brother's personal business, he just couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to read the papers he was holding in his hand. They seemed to be full of questions about life and existence. That made sense, somewhat, since being turned into a chimera would likely cause one to question everything that they had ever known, and go completely philosophical.

Al shuffled through the papers in his hand, and his eyes fell on a poem. Funny, he had never seen a poem written by his brother before, so this was quite intriguing, especially with all the philosophy in this one.

_Life is so easy to understand,  
__Yet life is so complicated.  
__Internal peace is sought after by man,  
__Yet internal peace is overrated._

_We all seek the answers to life itself,  
__Yet we don't even know life's question.  
__And we all accept our limitations  
__Given by the power of suggestion._

_Take me to the sky.  
__Teach me how to fly.  
__Please grant this single wish before I die.  
__My life has been rough,  
__But I've learned just enough.  
__All I ever needed to learn was to learn how to fly._

_We all try to embrace that which is good,  
__Yet we don't even know what's bad.  
__Even in the worst of times,  
__There are good things to be had._

_You talk of uniqueness, yet act the same  
__As everyone else around you.  
__Why brag about your differences  
__When you're afraid of what you do?_

_Take me to the sky.  
__Teach me how to fly.  
__Please grant this single wish before I die.  
__My life has been rough,  
__But I've learned just enough.  
__All I ever needed to learn was to learn how to fly._

Al stared at the paper for several moments after he finished reading the poem, song, whatever it was. He'd never realized that his brother was that philosophical. Okay, maybe he had, since the experience on the island that their Sensei had placed them on had prompted that to come out of the both of them, but it was still unusual to see his brother philosophize in this way.

He carefully placed the papers back on the desk where they belonged, and put a book on top of them so that they wouldn't blow around anymore. It would be quite obvious that they had been disturbed, but Al had nothing to hide from Ed anyway. Having done this, he yawned and stretched his arms, and then climbed back into bed.

He woke up the next morning to find Ed shaking him awake. "What's the matter, Brother?" he asked.

"You were reading all my little ramblings last night, weren't you?" Ed asked with a tone of amusement in his voice.

Al nodded. "Yeah, I half-accidentally stumbled upon them."

"HALF-accidentally? That means that the other half was on purpose! You were just snooping, weren't you?"

"Well…maybe a little…I was just worried about you, Brother."

Ed laughed and then messed up Al's hair with his hand. "Come on, we have a few things to do today."

Al smiled and stood up. Grabbing his coat, he turned to his brother and asked, "Hey, when did you suddenly become so philosophical?"

Ed gave him a surprised look. "Haven't I always been?"

Al shrugged. "A little, I guess. But this was more than normal."

Ed laughed again. "Well, I can't say that I'm exactly 'normal' right now." Al laughed at that comment. He couldn't agree more. His brother wasn't normal. Frankly, he and Al had never exactly been "normal", but Ed was even less normal now than ever.

Normal. What was "normal" anyway? Oh great, now he was philosophizing. This thing must be catching. Al jumped up and slapped his brother on the shoulder. "Race you down the stairs, if we can do so without getting caught. But no wings, got it?"

Ed laughed. "Okay, I got it." He threw on his coat, and bolted for the door with Al close behind. No, they weren't normal, but they could enjoy who they were just the same.

_**Hey, everyone. Could any of you Stargate SG-1 fans tell me if I spelled Selmac's name right? Heh, I've never seen it written out, so I'm just guessing.**_

_**Anyway, did you like the chapter? Suggestions? Comments? Questions? Please leave me a review, okay?**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey, everyone, sorry for not updating this story for a few days. I can pretty much only update one story a day, it seems, until I get my electricity turned back on, so this one had to be pretty much put on hold for a few days. Sigh. Anyway, hope that you like the chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: (Insert ultra-creative disclaimer here) Um…yeah…it's a disclaimer. You know what I'm disclaimering, right? (Disclaimering? Huh, that was originally a typo, but I thought it was funny, so I left it. Hehe.)**_

Al sat in silence, occasionally poking at the food he had ordered from this restaurant they were at. He wasn't really that interested in eating anything, but his brother would worry if he didn't. He sighed.

"What's the matter, Al?" said Ed with a mouthful of food, "Are you feeling alright?"

Al looked up, startled. "Oh…uh…yes."

Ed stared intently at Al for several moments before grabbing himself another bite of food. "Something's the matter, Al, what is it? You always make me tell you what's wrong, so don't I deserve the same?"

Al looked up nervously at his brother. He didn't really want to spew out his thoughts to him on this, but when he brought that up…

"Well…Brother…it's just that…" His voice trailed off.

"Yes?" Ed cocked an eyebrow and waited for a response.

"It's just that…you haven't been acting like yourself lately. Remember that man a few minutes ago who made a comment about your height? You just reacted calmly to it, and didn't blow up like you usually do."

Ed laughed. "So that's what's been bothering you?" Al nodded. "That's easy to explain then. Both of our personalities, mine and Selmac's, basically combine to make this one being that you see before you. While I may have a short fuse about such things, Selmac is incredibly calm. He's a dove, after all. I simply inherited a bit of his calmness is all. Nothing's actually wrong with me."

Al blushed and looked a bit sheepish. "Oh, so that's all it is?"

Ed laughed again, and said, "Yes, that's all there is to it. You need to speak up when you have a concern. It might be just as easy to explain as this one was."

Just then, the two of them heard a lot of commotion in the town square just a few yards yonder. They strained their ears to hear what was going on. Some people appeared to be posting notices everywhere, while a few uniformed men were standing in the middle of the square, shouting something to the masses.

"I'm going to go see what's going on," said Ed, pushing himself up from the table.

"Me too," said Al, right behind him.

Ed and Al pushed through the crowd until they were close enough to hear what was being said.

"As I've said," said the man doing the speech, "This individual is extremely dangerous, as he is not human. He was last seen boarding a train headed this way, so he could be in this town for all we know. Keep on your guard, and report any suspicious activity to the local authorities. We need to get this creature back into custody where he belongs."

The man finished his speech, and promptly disappeared. The crowd began dispersing almost as fast as it arose. Ed ran and grabbed the nearest person by the arm, and asked him what all that was supposed to mean, since they had apparently missed most of it.

"Oh, it was just about some sort of creature that looks like a kid with wings," said the man, who shrugged and then walked off without another word. Ed's arm fell limply to his side. He couldn't move. Was it him that they were looking for?

"Come on, Al, let's go," Ed said, turning around and promptly marching back in the direction of the inn they were staying at.

"Where are we going, Brother?"

"Anywhere but here. I can't risk being discovered, what with everyone on the lookout for me."

Al stifled a sob and fell into step beside his brother. He needed to be strong for Ed right now. He needed all the support possible. Al couldn't help but feel sorry for him though, always having to be on the run like this.

"Brother," Al said, "Shouldn't you contact the Fuhrer and get orders from him before departing?"

"No time," said Ed. "Everyone's looking for me in this town now, so I have to get out of here while I have the chance."

"So, where are we going to go?"

"I was thinking of going back to Resembool."

"Good idea."

Yes, that was a good idea. They could get the support of Pinako and Winry if they went back to their hometown. Right now, Ed needed all the emotional support he could get.

"So, Brother," said Al as they boarded the train for Resembool, "Are we going to call them at our next stop and tell them that we're coming, or do you plan to just show up unannounced?"

"Just show up unannounced," said Ed, "That way, I'll have less of a chance of getting caught if no one's around to hear where I'm going."

"Right," said Al, "I understand."

The two sat down in their seats and just stared at each other in silence. This running away on the train had become quite a habit for them lately. Would this ever end? Would his brother never find peace? Al sighed. Ed needed him to be strong, so that's what he was going to do.

"Brother," Al said as he placed a hand on Ed's knee, "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. I'll never leave your side. This is my choice, a choice that I am making of my own freewill. Remember that."

Ed smiled back at Al. "Thanks, I needed to hear that. I was just wondering if I had forced you to come along on a quest you didn't want to be involved in. How did you know that I was thinking that?"

Al shrugged his shoulders. "You're my brother. I just knew."

_**Hope you liked the chapter. Leave me a review if you want me to update soon, okay? Thanks a bunch!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey, everyone! Finally I write up another chapter, heh. I was pretty tired while writing this (nightshift is a killer, even when you're used to it), so forgive me if it's not as good. I really don't know what it is, because I'm still tired, hehe._**

**_Did you know that someone is actually writing a fanfic of one of my fanfics? Yeah, and I even started helping her write it, so now I'm co-authoring a fanfic of my fanfic. Yeah, weird, I know, but it's interesting. If you liked "My Body, Your Soul", go and check out Alchemy Otaku's profile (she's in my favorites) and read "Failure". Heh, instead of Ed possessing an old friend, he possesses an old enemy. Quite a twist! Hehe._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. I don't have time to come up with anything witty either, so you'll just have to suffer. Ha!_**

Ed and Al trudged up the stone filled path that led to the Rockbells' house. They stopped a few yards from the door. Ed took a deep breath. "Well, here goes." He walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

Within moments, a small woman opened the door. Smiles came to the two boys' faces. "Auntie!" they both cried at once. The woman just stared them up and down for a few moments, puffing on her pipe, without giving any obvious signs of emotion, though the boys could tell she was overjoyed.

She took the pipe out of her mouth and poked it into Ed's stomach. "Hey, Chibi," she said, "You're still awfully short. Don't tell me you still refuse to grow up and drink your milk!"

"Don't you tell me what to do you rotten old hag!" Ed yelled back. Al shrugged and stepped away from the two for a few moments while they continued their shouting match. For some reason, they looked forward to insulting each other whenever they came to meet each other again for the first time, and he wasn't about to interfere. He didn't particularly care to stick around and hear it though.

Al wondered around to the back, where he saw Winry hanging up the laundry on the clothesline. She was still standing behind the sheet she was hanging up, so she wasn't aware of his presence just yet. Al thought it best to let her see him first, rather than announce his presence to her. Just a silly little preference he had. Besides, it would give him a chance to get a good look at how she'd changed in the past few years. She was indeed becoming a beautiful woman.

Winry finished pinning her sheet up, and then stepped around to it pull another item from the laundry basket, when her glance happened to fall on Al. She stopped in her tracks and stared without a word for several moments. Al broke the silence. "Uh, hi, Winry."

"Al? What are you doing here? Is Ed here too? Why didn't you call us and tell us you were coming? We would have come out to meet you! Frankly, you guys don't call at all, so what have you been up to? Why did you…"

Al waved his hands in front of his chest to silence the onslaught of questions she was hurtling at him. He could only answer one at a time, after all. "It's a long story, Winry, and we couldn't call. We didn't want anyone overhearing Brother."

"Don't tell me he's in trouble again!" Winry practically yelled.

Al grimaced and sighed. "He's in trouble."

A few minutes later, the four individuals were inside the house, trying to catch up with each other. It had been so long since any of them had talked, that they were all excitedly talking. Oh, wait…that was just all Winry's talk. Everyone else was just rolling their eyes, wondering when she was going to shut up.

"Ed," said Winry, placing herself right in front of Ed so that he couldn't ignore her, "Al told me you were in trouble. What did you do this time?"

Ed flinched nervously. Not only had he not wanted this to come out just yet, but Winry was standing a little bit too close for comfort. He glanced pleadingly over at Al. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing!" Al said, putting his hands up, "All I said was that you were in trouble, which was the reason we didn't call ahead."

Ed turned back to Winry and gulped. She was holding one of her wrenches a little bit too close for comfort, and casually reminding him that she was still very proficient in its use as a weapon. Ed gulped again, and then said, "Could we at least sit down first?"

Winry relaxed her arm, and dropped the wrench to her side. "Alright, fine, let's sit down, but you're not getting out of telling me what's going on!"

Ed laughed uneasily, and then turned to go into the living room, but Winry reached out and grabbed his coat. "Hey, silly, why don't you take off your coat and stay awhile?" She pulled at the collar of the coat, making it start to slip off. Ed's eyes widened as he knew what was about to happen. He was about to be exposed.

With a clean gesture, Winry had wrenched Ed's coat off of his back, and then froze, dropping his coat on the floor in shock. Were those wings real? What was going on?

Ed rubbed his face nervously, and responded to the look on her face. "Yes, Winry, these wings are real. This is my big secret. I didn't want this to come out this soon, but I guess that it had to happen. I'm a chimera."

"You're a…a…?" Winry couldn't seem to even form words anymore, but Ed understood what she was saying regardless, and he just nodded.

"I was crossed with a dove. That's why I have wings." He reached down, picked up his coat, and proceeded to hang it up in the coat closet with Winry continuing to stare on in surprise, still mute.

Suddenly, she grew angry. "So, do you mean to tell me that you wanted wings so bad that you attempted human transmutation when you very well knew the consequences of such an act?" She had raised her wrench over Ed's head again, and he was once again starting to feel uneasy.

"No, no, no, nothing like that!" Ed shouted, waving his hands defensively in front of him. Winry dropped her hand, much to Ed's relief, so he continued. "I didn't have much of a choice. Someone did this to me, and now they're trying to find me again so that they can continue with their experiments."

Winry crossed her arms. "I don't believe you. You wouldn't just allow someone to abduct you and perform a transmutation on you. I know you too well…you must've wanted it for some reason."

Ed sighed and looked down at the ground, not saying anything. Winry continued to glare at him. Al walked up to Ed nervously, and said, "Brother, is that true? Did you want this done to you for some reason?"

Ed looked up at Al with tears in his eyes, and then quickly looked away, so that he could wipe the tears without either Al or Winry noticing, hopefully. "There…There was one good reason to allow the man to do this."

"WHAT WAS IT?" Winry yelled, obviously quite angered by now. She couldn't believe that Ed would tap into something like this when he had already been through it, and supposedly had already learned his lesson.

Ed wiped his tears one more time, and then fixed Winry with a steady gaze. "You're right, I could have escaped from that man, being a state alchemist and all, but…" he choked, not being able to finish his sentence. Winry prodded him on, so he continued. "The man showed me a picture he had just taken of me and Al walking together on the streets of Central, and told me that he had spies watching the two of us everywhere. He told me exactly where Al was at the moment, and he was right. I was informed that if I didn't comply with his demands, that he was going to make sure that Al wound up dead."

Both Winry and Al gasped. They had never anticipated such a thing as this. Ed had chosen to face the uncertain effects of human transmutation over harm coming to Al? It made sense, actually, knowing Ed, but something still didn't ring right.

"Ed, if there were spies all over the place, how is it that you were able to escape from them and get here?" asked Winry.

"While I was still at that lab, I managed to figure out the man's system, and so I learned how to avoid getting caught by him. That's why he has to go directly to the authorities of various towns and lie to them, telling them I'm dangerous, in order to try and get me back."

Ed sat down on the floor, and Winry soon followed suit. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ed, I didn't know." He looked over at her, and smiled, though he didn't actually say anything. Winry understood what he meant regardless.

She began rubbing her hand on his shoulder, and soon found herself running her hand along his wings. Ed chuckled and said, "What are you doing?"

Winry blushed, "Oh, well, I, uh…it's just…I've never seen a person with wings before…and, uh…"

He laughed and waved his hand at her. "Don't worry about it, I understand. I know that I'm an unusual sight right now. It's alright if you look a little bit, just don't poke and prod too much. You know how that would get on my nerves." Winry nodded her understanding. She understood that alright.

The four individuals chatted for sometime, catching up on the events of the past few years, when Ed decided that he needed to turn in for the night, so he stood up and stretched, said good night to everyone, and then headed up to his room.

After he was gone, Winry turned to Al. "So, Al, now that he's gone, tell us how he's REALLY doing." Ed had a bad reputation for watering down the truth, or even outright lying, about his well-being. Winry wanted to hear the truth, and she knew that Al wasn't the type to lie to anyone.

"Well…" Al sighed, and then continued, "He's having a pretty hard time of it at times. He keeps trying to be cheerful, and he asks me to be cheerful for his sake, but it's so hard. And now, I find out that this all happened because of me…" He buried his head in his hands and started to cry. Winry reached over and pulled his face up by his chin to look into his eyes.

"Al, it was not your fault that this happened to him. This was the fault of an evil man. Ed just didn't want any harm to come to you. Had you wound up dead, he wouldn't have wanted to live either. He made the choice that would be easier on the both of you. Don't punish yourself for that."

Al smiled a weak smile, and said, "Thanks, Winry. I'll try to continue to be cheerful for Brother."

Winry smiled too. "Yes, he needs as much encouragement as he can get."

Just then, Pinako walked into the room. "You two had better get off to bed tomorrow. There's work to be done, you know."

Al looked at Winry, and then back at Pinako. "You mean that I have to work too?"

Pinako smiled a mischievous smile as she puffed at her pipe. "As long as you're under my roof, there's work for you to do."

Winry snickered and slapped Al on the back. "Yeah, Al, you knew that. Come on, let's get to bed." Before Al had a chance to react, Winry had grabbed Al's hand and led him down the hall towards their bedrooms. Pinako looked on longingly after them.

"Those brothers are strong," she muttered to herself, "I've never witnessed such a strong bond anywhere else. I hope that it holds up to what lies ahead."


	8. Chapter 8

**_I know, I know, I know your name, your name is Bob...Oh wait, sorry, I guess that I've got that song stuck in my head. (It's a song called "I Know Your Name" by Neil Cicierega. Funny song.) Anyway, I FINALLY updated this story! Heh...sorry I took so long. I try never to drop the stories I start, though they might take awhile, heh. Heck, I'm even still trying to figure out "Me, Myself, and I". I haven't even dropped THAT! I just don't like to give up on stories. That's mean to the readers, in my opinion. Anyway..._**

Hope that you like this chapter. Feel free to offer suggestions, as I really don't know where this story's going. This is mainly a fanservice type of story anyway, so you crazy fangirls (and boys, of course, hehe) MUST have SOME ideas of what to have happen here!

Oh, and please don't kill Winry, okay? I tried to make her more in character, since I've gotten a bit more in touch with the character than I used to be. Just so you know, she's not flirting with Ed or anything, Al's just heckling Ed and making it seem that way, hehe. Winry's not a flirt, and Al's just a tease. That's the way it's always been, right?

Disclaimer: The following parties would like to disclaim any implied ownership of the aforementioned...oh geez, now I'm sounding like a TOS or something! For goodness' sake! Isn't the statement, "I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist" good enough? Geez!

The next morning, Al came walking down the stairs, yawning and stretching his arms. "Well, good morning, sleepyhead," said Pinako, "How was your sleep?"

"It was fine, thanks," said Al as he began rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "I always sleep better here, what with it being so quiet and peaceful."

Winry smiled at that, and then asked, "So, how's Ed doing?"

Before Al could answer, Ed walked into the room and said, "Ed's up." Al turned his face away from Ed and snickered a bit at the fact that his brother had addressed himself in the third person, since normal people didn't do that...but then again...neither of them were normal. Edward noticed Al's reaction and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Al waved his hand in response. "Nothing, nothing..." and then laughed a bit more as he walked into the kitchen. Edward shrugged and then started to follow Al, only to feel something pull him back. He turned his head as a look of slight annoyance came over him when he saw Winry tugging at his wings.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Winry giggled. "Sorry...it's just that...your wings are so cool...and you're also so fun to tease." Ed rolled his eyes and continued to walk into the kitchen. What did he ever do to deserve all his friends and family constantly trying to tease him?

Upon arriving in the kitchen, he saw Al watching him, a big grin plastered on his face. Ed was about to ask him what that grin meant, when Al answered for him, since the two seemed to be able to practically read each other's thoughts at times without having to attempt communication. "Brother...can't you see it?"

"See what?"

Al giggled. "She likes you...a lot!"

Ed blushed and turned away from Al to open the refrigerator. "Shut up."

"Don't you tell me to shut up!"

Ed turned back to face Al, and said, "Fine, is it alright if I tell you to shup?"

"Shup?"

"Yeah, that's what you say if you are too lazy to say shut up."

"...You just made that up, didn't you?"

"What if I did?"

At this, Al laughed and said, "Shup, Brother, just shup."

"Don't you tell me to shup!"

"Oh, would you prefer me to tell you to shut up?"

"No, I'd prefer shup."

"Fine, then shup."

"...I thought I said..."

"No, just shup."

"..." Ed sighed. Even in their stupid little arguments, Ed could never beat Al. Why was that anyway? Was it some sort of curse that had been placed on the eldest Elric at birth, stating that he could never win to his little brother? Yeah, that must be it. He was just cursed.

Finally, the two found something to eat for breakfast and sat down at the table to eat, where Winry was already sitting, eating her breakfast. "So guys," she said, "Here's the plan. Al, we have a lot of errands that need to be run. If you could do some of those things for us, we'd be most grateful."

"Sure, that would be no problem," said Al.

"What about me?" asked Ed.

"You'll help us around the house."

"...But I don't LIKE just sitting around!" Ed protested.

"I know," said Winry, "But do you really want to take the risk of getting exposed? If you stay around the house, no one will see your wings, and you'll be safe."

"But..."

Winry slammed her empty bowl on the table, making the spoon clink inside it. "No buts! You came to us for help, and we're giving it to you. The least you could do let us do so."

Edward nodded. Yes, he understood her point, clearly. He didn't particularly like the idea of just waiting around doing nothing...but yes, it was safer to do so. "Fine," he said, "I'll help out around the house. I just hope that they catch the guy that did this to me soon so that I don't have to be confined to one location for too long."

Winry put her spoon in her mouth to lick off the last bit of milk on it, and then put it back into her bowl. "You should really chill out a bit, Ed...settle down or something." She smiled, and then picked up her bowl and headed back into the kitchen. Al reached over and elbowed his brother, only to receive a glare back from Ed. Apparently, the idea of "settling down" with a girl was a little too much for Ed to think about right now, and Al's constant teasing really didn't help much.

Al finally finished his meal, so he said goodbye to everyone and then ran off to run some errands around town for the Rockbells. Ed just sighed and placed his head on the table, feeling very hopeless. Winry came back into the room, seeing him like that, and began to rub the back of his head. "Edward, I'm sorry...I wish there was more that I could do for you...I wish I could make you feel better somehow."

Ed gave her a weak smile. "It's okay...don't worry about it."

"I'll worry about you as long as I'm alive," said Winry, "You guys are the only siblings I have." Ed smiled. So SHE only thought of them as siblings. Good. Oh, that Al...he was sure going to get it later. Winry continued to rub Ed's hair for a moment before she spoke again. "Edward...since you're still healing from the transmutation and all...it's okay if you don't want to work around the house for awhile, you can rest. Granny won't mind."

"I can't do that to you guys, I'm fine. I'm not in any pain or anything."

Winry knelt down on the floor so that she could get a better look at Edward's face. "Okay, so you're not suffering any physical pain...but what about mental pain?" Edward closed his eyes, not wanting to respond to that comment, but Winry caught the silent message all the same. "Look, why don't you go and find some quiet place where you can sit and think? I think it would do you some good."

Ed only grunted in response, so Winry grabbed his arm and picked him up from the table, since he didn't seem to have much desire to quit using it for a replacement bed, and she led him up to his bedroom, as that was the best place she could think of to send him for the time being. He could go wherever he felt like later...but since he wasn't making up his own mind right then, this was the best place for him.

Winry carefully set Ed down on the bed without him uttering a complaint, and then started to walk out of the room when Ed suddenly spoke up and called her back. A bit startled, Winry turned around and came back into the room and sat on Al's bed so that she could get a good look at Ed while he spoke to her.

"Winry..." Ed began, but his voice trailed off. He crossed his arms and shivered for a brief moment, so Winry got up and shut the window, thinking that maybe Ed was cold, though he didn't exactly look it. She sat back down on the bed and asked him to continue. "I...I don't know if I can take it...I'm not strong enough."

"Not strong enough for what?" asked Winry.

Ed clamped his eyes shut tight, as if trying to hold back tears, though one still slipped through. Ed quickly wiped it away with his auto-mail arm, hoping that Winry hadn't seen him temporarily show his weak side. "I...I'm not strong enough...I have to take care of Al...but I can't with this body...since I'm being pursued. I'm not even sure I can take care of the other being inside me, and he's depending on me...but...but I can't seem to get a grip on having to share a body with someone else!"

At this, Ed began to shake. Winry took it as a sign that he was highly embarrassed for showing that much of his weak side to anyone. Winry got up off of Al's bed and went and wrapped Ed in a tight embrace. "You are strong, Ed. I don't know anyone else who could put up with what you've gone through. You just have to believe in yourself. I'm sure you'll pull through." She paused for a moment, and then asked, "Now what was this about sharing your body?"

Ed let out a sigh and proceeded to explain the whole thing to her about the blending of his soul and the dove's into a single body, and how they were both trying to cope with the whole affair. Winry hugged Ed even tighter. "Edward...and your friend inside of you...I know that you'll both get through this...you just need to believe in yourselves. Al, Granny, and myself are here also, and we'll do everything in our power to lighten this burden for you, okay?" Ed nodded his response, so Winry smiled and continued hugging him until he started nodding off.

Carefully, Winry put Ed down in his bed so that he wasn't lying on his wings, pulled the blanket over him, and then quietly crept out of the room.

As she came down the stairs, she was met by her grandmother, who asked, "So how is he doing?"

"He's in a lot of mental pain, and is carrying such a huge burden." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't help but worry for him...but I know that he'll make it through this. He's strong, he always has been."

Pinako allowed herself to grin slightly as she reminisced about the time they had equipped Ed with auto-mail and he hadn't screamed. "Yes," she agreed, "That boy is strong, very strong indeed."

Winry walked over to a nearby window and leaned on the ledge to look out of it. He may be strong, she thought, but I'm not sure I am. A tear slipped down her cheek. She always did this. Whenever something would happen to one of the boys that they refused to allow themselves to grieve over, she would grieve for them. She wasn't sure if it was a weakness or a strength on her part, but she knew that it meant that her connection to them was strong.

"Ed," she whispered to herself, "Just hang tight. Everything will work out sooner or later. You'll see. Things will work out."

**_I hope that you liked that. Leave me some reviews, and hopefully some suggestions and/or questions if you want me to update soon. Those suggestions and questions help a whole lot, believe me. Anyway, hope to see you soon! Thanks for reading!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Finally, I've begun to get a tiny bit of a plot idea to carry along. Heh...I can't update a story very quickly if I have no idea what to do, after all, heh. I finally got a good "connection" as I call it, though ironically, I got the "connection" while I was actually writing the chapter, not before I sat down to write, like I normally would have. ((shrugs)) Go figure._**

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: "Melissa doesn't own us," said Ed One, "And if you want to know what the whole dual Ed thing is about, you'll have to go to "The Demon Within" and read the disclaimers there."

"Why are you advertising another one of her stories?" said Ed Two, "Don't you hate how things wind up for us in her stories?"

Ed One shrugged. "Well, it sucks that we're always dying and all in her stories...but hey! In "The Demon Within", we're immortal, you can't beat that, can you?"

Ed Two put his hand to his chin, as if to think, and said, "You know, you're right..." he paused, "But, there has to be some sort of catch to that. There always is one."

Ed One slapped him upside the head, and said, "Don't worry so much! Anyway, everyone, Melissa doesn't own us, so don't sue her...wait a minute...maybe you should, considering how she treats us."

Ed Two beamed. "Yes, sue Melissa! She doesn't own us, but she's evil!" With that, the two Eds gave each other high fives, and then walked off to get back into the story they actually belonged in.

"How is Brother doing?" asked Al as he stepped through the door.

Winry got up from her perch at the window. "You're home early," she said, "How'd things go?"

"Just fine," said Al as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead, "I got all the errands done...and it's only noon." He gave off one of those childish smiles of his, and then resumed his original question. "So how is Brother doing?"

Winry looked down at the ground. "Oh um...he's fine I guess...but he seemed a little sad when I saw him last."

Al frowned. "Should I go check on him?"

Winry shook her head. "No, I put him to bed. Let him sleep."

Al sighed and was trying to decide whether to obey Winry's orders or not when Ed came walking into the room. Al, sensing the familiar presence of his brother behind him, spun around and said, "Oh, Brother! How are you doing?"

Ed's mouth twitched in a sort of smile, and his gaze seemed to dart between Al's face and the floor about once every second. It was a little bit unusual of behavior for him, but no one really thought much of it.

"Brother?" Al persisted upon not getting a response, "How are you doing?"

Ed jerked his attention up to Al's face and kept it there. His lips quivered as he tried to speak. "I..." Al's eyebrow went up, and he encouraged Ed to continue. "I-I..."

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Ed smiled and shook his head, and then looked back at Al. "H-h-hi..."

"...Hi?" repeated Al, a bit confused, "Um, hi to you too...but are you okay?"

Ed just nodded and turned around to head to the kitchen, but Al couldn't help noticing that Ed seemed to be wobbling a bit in his walk. What was wrong with him? Al ran up to Ed and grabbed his arm, and proceeded to give it his brother a light shake as he said, "Brother, something's wrong. What's the matter?"

At this, Ed's eyes opened wide as if in a daze, and he staggered back a few steps. He put his hand to his brow as if to shield his vision and his eyes squinted. "Whoa...what am I doing out here?" Ed said as he looked around the room nervously.

"Brother...you don't remember anything about the past few minutes?"

Ed stood quietly for a moment, but then finally shook his head. Al sighed. "Were you walking in your sleep?"

Edward looked up at his little brother and smiled. "I doubt it. I've never done that. I think that Selmac was just taking advantage of the fact that I hadn't woken up yet. It was probably him who was controlling my body just now, and brought me out here..." He then chuckled, and added, "...the rascal."

Al paused a moment. "But...Selmac isn't able to talk...is he? I mean...he's a dove, and doves can't talk...can they?"

Ed looked directly at Al, and said, "Why, did he talk to you?" Al wasn't quite sure if that was the appropriate question, but he knew what the answer was, regardless of the question asked, so he simply nodded. Ed replied with a smile. "Well, I'm not too surprised...I've been teaching him how to talk. He can't speak human language fluently like you or I can, but he's gotten to the point where he can articulate words on occasion. Likewise, he's been teaching me how to fly. I still can't soar like he does, but if I jump from a few feet off the ground, I can glide for a few yards before I touch down."

Al was rather impressed, to be quite honest. After all, he had just been spoken to by a dove, intelligently for that matter. He was about to comment on that intriguing fact when Ed suddenly placed his arms in front of his abdomen and doubled over, spewing blood all over the floor just like his teacher used to do.

"Brother!" Al ran up to Ed and gently raised him back to a standing position, only to suddenly find that he rather needed to help Ed down to a kneeling position, which he did. Al knelt down next to Ed and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Brother, what's wrong? I knew something wasn't right! What's going on here?"

Ed was breathing so hard and fast that he was hyperventilating. "I...don't know...this...is the first time...this has ever happened."

Al sprang to his feet without even thinking. "We need to get you to a doctor."

Fortunately, Ed's clarity of mind was still present, and he reached up and grabbed ahold of Al's coat and pulled him back down. "You...idiot...we can't let a doctor...see me...like this...or I'll be...discovered."

Al's brow knit together in worry. "But we have to have someone look at you. You're not well. Who can we find that we trust, even if they can only do a little?"

A cough sounding from behind the two boys reminded them of Winry's presence in the room, and they both turned to face her. "I...I can do a little," she said timidly, "I used to read my parents medical books all the time...and the surgical procedures that I have to perform for auto-mail installation give me a little further knowledge...but I..." she started to tear up, "I'm not a surgeon, so I'm not sure how much I can do."

Ed began to get control of his breathing, and he carefully pushed himself up to look into Winry's eyes. Noticing that his lip felt a bit wet, he brought up his hand to wipe it off, only to realize too late that he had just smeared blood all over his hand. He sighed. At least blood would easily wash off his hand.

"Winry," he said, "You're the best person for this situation right now. We can trust you, and you also have some knowledge in the field. Examine me if you wish."

"But...what if I can't do anything?" Winry's lip was beginning to quiver with worry.

Ed shook his head and grabbed Winry's chin to make her look at him. "If there's nothing you can do, then there's nothing you can do. That's no fault of your own. In the state I'm in right now, I'm lucky that there is anyone who can look at me at all." He let go of her chin, and managed a smile. "Don't worry so much about me, Win, I'll be alright."

Anyone could tell by the look on her face that she didn't really believe that statement, but notwithstanding, she marched him into the surgery room and had him sit down and rest while she went to clean up the blood. All the equipment that she might need to examine him was in that room, plus she really didn't want to drag him all the way back up the stairs at that moment, so she figured that that was the best place to leave him for the time being.

She came back out to find Al laboriously mopping up the blood, though there was a lot to mop up, so he wasn't having a lot of success in the matter. Sig had always taken care of Izumi's problems when they were apprenticed to her, so they had never really learned how to deal with this situation.

Winry almost managed a smirk as she watched Al's attempt at being useful, but she quickly went and grabbed the mop from his hand, thanking him for his help, and asked him to go and keep an eye on Ed while she cleaned up the mess. Al nodded and walked off to the room where Ed was being kept.

Winry sighed and proceeded to fetch all the necessary cleaners and disinfectants that Al SHOULD have grabbed had he known any better, and began the process of cleaning the mess up correctly. Well, in all honesty, he had helped a little by mopping up the bulk of the blood, though a mop really wasn't the best tool to use in a situation like this. It would have been much better to grab some rags and gloves that could just be easily thrown away after the mess was cleaned up, but no matter. At least the job was being done.

Finally, Winry had the mess cleaned up to her satisfaction, and she went back to the room to check on Ed. Al was still in there, chattering away to his brother, though it appeared that he wasn't really getting any response from Ed. Upon closer examination, Winry noticed that Ed had fallen asleep right on the table. Al had probably known that, but kept talking anyway. He must've thought that hearing a friendly voice would comfort him. Winry smiled at the thought.

"Okay, Al," Winry sighed, "If I'm going to examine him, I'll need you to step out for a few minutes. I can't do this with someone else looking over my shoulder." The truth was that she didn't know what she'd find, if she found anything, and she knew that she and Al were both expert worriers. If one of them started worrying, it would trigger the other one to start, and then it would just continue to escalate in a negative spiral.

Fortunately, Al didn't question her simple explanation, so he just nodded and stepped out of the room for her to examine his brother.

Al waited outside of the room for some time, trying to occupy himself by fidgeting in whichever way appealed to him most at the moment, or pacing back and forth when he grew tired of that. He was about to sit down again and resume twiddling his thumbs when he heard a loud "Oh my GOSH!" come from within the room. That did it, he couldn't stay outside any longer.

Al burst into the room, nearly scaring the living daylights out of Winry, and said, "What? What is it? What's wrong with him?"

Winry looked up at him, but didn't scold the boy for barging in like that. Al took a step back as he noticed the tears staining her face. This couldn't be good.

"Come and see," she said. Al obeyed and came over to where she was standing over the still sleeping Ed. She pulled his shirt up, exposing his abdomen. It still looked quite normal, so what was she trying to get him to look at?

"Place your hand on his stomach."

Al did so, and nearly jumped back in fright. "Wh-what the heck?" He turned to Winry for confirmation, only to have her nod, that yes, she had felt it too. Al began to visibly quiver. "H-how did this happen? How could this have happened to him? What's wrong with him?"

Winry shook her head, indicating that she wasn't quite sure herself, but she was guessing. "I think that the transmutation he went through was faulty, and he's suffering the effects of it."

Al clenched his fists, and his face took on an expression that was a mixture of confusion, sadness, and rage. He repeated the question he'd been asking all day. "What's wrong with him?"

Winry took a deep breath, and coughed a couple times. Tears were streaming down her face, and in response, tears began to stream down Al's face as well. Winry finally met his gaze, and her lips began to move in an attempt to speak.

"He...his...his insides are turning to mush. Unless you know something about alchemy that I don't, he doesn't appear to have long to live."

**_Heh heh heh...well, the dual Eds made an unexpected guest appearance in this story, didn't they? Just make sure you don't listen to them. Don't sue me, hehe. Hey, these stories may be sad and angsty, but that's why a lot of you keep coming back, right? Anyway, you know I always patch it up somewhat in the end, hehe. So no suing, or you get no story, so there! ((sticks tongue out))_**

Anyway, please review, and let me know what you think. I know that the story suddenly took an unexpected turn that even I didn't see coming, so don't blame me! I don't know where that came from, it just...did! Heh...anyway, make sure to review, and I'll try and update soon. Okay? Okay.


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